I am back in Australia, getting back into the country (Sydney) 5.30pm Tuesday..
Over nighted Sydney, as there was a mix up with my flights I did not get away from that joint till 11am next morning..
Left Sydney next morning and home 4.30pm Wednesday

Hi, Lindsey. I don't think I'll be able to make it to Oshkosh this year, but I would love to be able to go. Maybe next year.

It is great to see more females in the world of aviation! How soon until you get your license? I am a fairly new pilot myself. Got my ticket about a year and a half ago in fixed wing, about 3 months later was certified in high performance/complex. Don't know yet whether I'll study for my IFR ticket, but I am considering it.

Re Helicopters over Fixed Wing, I prefer Helicopters for fun flying and the ability in some countries to land at your destination, i.e. Hotel, Restaurant or Golf Course. If the journey is about seeing what you are flying over, low and slow is the way to go and a Helicopter is great for that.

If however the journey is about getting somewhere and the destination is the purpose, i.e. visiting a City in Europe, then Fixed wing is faster and cheaper, and with an instrument rating you stand a better chance of getting there especially the further it is.

Horses for courses really, but Helicopters are more fun and you are more connected with the machine. I'm not really into aerobatics, but I'm sure people who do that feel a connection with the machine the same as I do with Helicopters. Microlighting is similar in some ways to helicopter flying i.e. low and slow and you can get into many small farm strips, and there is a great community spirit, and it can also be fairly cheap.

I started on Microlights (Ultralights) with a Thruster TST. That was too open and cold for my wife Mary so when I got my licence I bought a RANS S6 which we flew for a couple of years, touring all over UK. I then got my Group A Aeroplane Licence and then Group B Twin rating and bought a 50% share in a Piper Twin Comanche. I then did my Night and Instrument Rating and we flew further afield to the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, Guernsey and Jersey. I then did my Helicopter Rating on the Robinson R22, then did the Enstrom 280 rating and then the R44. I then bought another aeroplane a Gruman AA1 which we flew all over and to France and Belgium. I then sold that and am flying Helicopters again. I only fly for pleasure, and my wife enjoys coming along with me.

Hello, and thanks for your message. To answer your question, I did the bulk of my flying when I was in the Navy, stationed first at NAS Memphis (Millington, TN - now all in Pensacola, FL), then at NAS North Island in San Diego. Next, I then did my sky-diving in San Diego (Borderland Airport on the border of CA. and Mexico) and my hand gliding in Cantimar, Mexico. We are tryig to finalize a flight training program at the Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) where I presently teach, and perhaps I will fly more then. How about you Lindsey? May I ask what your background is, what you are presently doing, and what your goals are?

Lindsay, my desire to learn to fly comes from when I was a boy and my father was in the mission field in Africa. We used to have a flying doctor service that would come into town every second tuesday of the month in a C-185, and the pilot was a world war ll veteran who knew aerobatics. He would make a low pass over the mission station, then do a barrel roll, and then everyone in the neighborhood would rush to the remote dirt strip nearby. To make a long story short, every once in a while, my sister and I got to go for a ride in the back seat of that C-185!

Hi Lindsey, I've been flying now for a little over 3 years and it was difficult to find students due to the economy. I started doing some heavy networking and got involved with Whirly Girls, seminars and expos. I was submitting resumes everywhere I could. A fellow friend and pilot told me about the job with Panhandle Helicopter and I contacted him ASAP and got the job!! Now I get to fly tours along the Gulf Coast, and I love every minute of it :) Finally I'm getting paid to fly.... instead of paying to fly. Hope we stay in touch. Fly Safe!!